Field  Museum  of  Natural   History 

Publication   195 

Anthropological  Series  Vol.  VI,  No.  4 


THREE  ETRUSCAN  PAINTED 
SARCOPHAGI 

BY 

F.  B.  Tarbell 

Professor  of  Classical  Archaeology  in  the 
University  of  Chicago 


Berthold  Laufer 
Curator,  Department  of  Anthropology 


Chicago,  U.S.A. 

1917 


THREE  ETRUSCAN  PAINTED  SARCOPHAGI 

The  three  sarcophagi  to  which  this  article  is  devoted  were  purchased 
on  two  occasions  by  the  Field  Museum,  through  the  intermediation  of 
Mr.  Edward  E.  Ayer,  from  a  well-known  dealer  in  Rome,  Alessandro 
Jandolo.  Two  of  the  three,  referred  to  below  as  A  and  B,  are  mentioned  as 
new  acquisitions  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Field  Museum  for  1901-02, 
p.  95.  These  two  were  seen  by  the  late  Professor  Furtwangler  in  the  early 
autumn  of  1904,  and  are  briefly  described  in  the  report  published  by  him 
after  his  return  to  Munich  on  the  antiquities,  Greek,  Italian,  etc.,  which  he 
found  in  American  museums.1  The  third  sarcophagus,  C,  acquired  some 
ten  or  eleven  years  later,  is  mentioned  in  the  Annual  Report  for  191 2,  but 
has  received  no  further  notice  in  print. 

The  information  available  regarding  the  discovery  of  these  sarcophagi  is 
painfully  meager  and  contradictory.  Five  similar  specimens  are  known  to 
have  been  found,  probably  three  in  or  about  the  year  1900,  and  two  sub- 
sequently, perhaps  as  late  as  19 10  or  191 1.  These  all  passed  through  the 
hands  of  the  Jandolo  brothers.  From  a  recent  letter 2  written  by  Alessandro 
Jandolo  to  Mr.  Ayer  in  response  to  inquiries  it  appears  that  the  two  speci- 
mens which  are  not  in  Chicago  were  sold  to  Dr.  Ludwig  Pollak,  who  disposed 
of  one  to  the  Museum  in  Berlin,  and  the  other,  Jandolo  thinks,  to  "a  great 
Copenhagen  brewer"  (that  is,  Jacobsen).  Of  the  latter  I  can  learn  nothing 
further.  As  it  is  not  included  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Ny  Carlsberg  Glyp- 
totek  (edition  of  1907),  it  must,  if  in  that  collection,  have  been  acquired 

1  Neue  Denkmaler  antikcr  Kunst  in,  MUnchemei  Sitzungsberk-hte,  1905,  p.  24S. 

2  The  relevant  part  of  Jandolo's  letter  is,  with  his  own  punctuation,  as  follows: 
"Riconlo  henissimo  i  tre  sarcofagiin  tufo  da  Ella  acquistati.  An/.i  come  da  sua  lettera, 
erano cinque  e  due  di  questi  furono  comprate  dal  I'rof.  Lodovico  Pollak  e  son  aicuro  che 
uno  trovasi  a  Berlino,  1'altro  credo  lo  comprasse  un  grande  negoziante  di  birra  di  Copen- 
hagen. Riguarao  ia  provenienza  furono  da  mio  fratello  Antonio  comprati  nelle  vicinanze 
di  Toscanella  (ora  [sic!]  Toscania  circondario  Viterbo)  in  concorrenza  dell1  antiquario 
Saturnino  [nnocenti.  L'epoca  in  cui  furono  trovati  fu  di  pochi  mesi  avanti  che  Lei 
ne  facesse  acquisto  da  me;  Buppellettili  non  ve  ne  erano  essendo  state  le  tombe  gift  aperte 

anticamente Non  so  darle  altri  dettagli  essendo  morto  il  mio  povero  fratello  e  il 

proprietario  che  glieli  vendette."  The  foregoing  ax  1  ounl  would  naturally  be  understood 
as  implying  that  the  five  sarcophagi  wen-  bought  by  Intonio  Jandolo  at  one  time.  This, 
if  intended,  is  almosl  1  ertainly  an  error,  for  a<  1  ording  to  Mr.  \\<  r'l  1  tear  memory  C  mu 
not  in  Jandolo's  possi   non  at  the  time  when  A  and  H  were  bought  for  the  Field  Museum. 


64  F.  B.  Tarbell 

subsequently  to  1907.  The  former  is  catalogued,  with  a  single  small  picture, 
among  the  recent  accessions  to  the  Antiquarium  of  the  Old  Museum  in 
Berlin,1  and  is  there  said  to  have  come  from  Civita  Castellana,  the  site  of 
the  ancient  Falerii.  But  Jandolo  in  the  letter  already  cited  testifies  that 
all  five  pieces  were  bought  in  the  vicinity  of  Toscanella,  a  place  nearly 
thirty  miles  in  a  bee  line  to  the  northwest  of  Civita  Castellana.  Although 
he  does  not  actually  say  that  the  pieces  were  found  in  that  neighborhood, 
that  is  the  apparent  implication  of  his  words.  His  testimony  receives  some 
confirmation  from  the  character  of  the  material  of  which  the  sarcophagi  in 
Chicago  are  composed.  A  sample  of  this  has  been  examined  at  the  Geo- 
physical Laboratory  in  Washington,  D.C.  Dr.  H.  S.  Washington  of  that 
laboratory,  who  kindly  undertook  the  examination,  reports  that  the 
material,  "a  volcanic  tuff,  and  apparently  a  leucite-trachyte  ....  prob- 
ably comes  from  the  neighborhood  of  Toscanella,  where  leucite-trachytes 
and  their  tuffs  are  abundant,  rather  than  from  Civita  Castellana." 
Toscanella,  then,  the  ancient  Toscania  in  southern  Etruria,  may  with 
much  probability  be  regarded  as  the  place  of  discovery  of  the  five  sar- 
cophagi in  question. 

Undecorated  sarcophagi  similar  in  form  to  those  now  under  discussion 
are  familiar  to  students  of  Etruscan  antiquities.  Specimens  found  at  Narce 
in  the  Faliscan  territory  are  figured  in  the  elaborate  report  on  that  site  in 
the  Monumenti  antichi,  Vol.  IV,  Figs.  63,  64,  70,  and  Plate  V,  3,  4,  of  the 
accompanying  Atlante.  But  these  painted  specimens  constitute,  for  the 
period  to  which  they  belong,  a  new  class.  Moreover,  the  designs,  when 
compared  with  contemporary  Etruscan  designs  hitherto  known,  present 
some  novelties.  Hence  the  belief  has  arisen  in  certain  quarters  that,  while 
the  sarcophagi  themselves  are  ancient,  the  paintings  upon  them  are  modern. 
This  belief  receives  some  encouragement  from  the  appearance  of  A  and  B, 
of  which  the  latter  certainly  and  the  former  possibly  have  been  retouched, 
though,  as  is  believed,  with  scrupulous  regard  for  the  original  traces.  C,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  entirely  free  from  suspicious  appearances.  In  fact,  the 
extreme  faintness  or  even  total  obliteration  of  parts  of  the  design  affords  a 
strong  guaranty  of  genuineness.  Moreover,  the  specimen  in  Berlin  is 
evidently  accepted  there  as  genuine.  Under  these  circumstances  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  presenting  the  sarcophagi  of  the  Field  Museum  as  examples  of 
early  Etruscan  art,  to  be  added  to  the  paintings  on  early  chamber-tombs, 
the  vases,  painted  or  with  designs  in  relief,  of  Etruscan  fabric,  the  bronze 
reliefs,  and  the  other  miscellaneous  artistic  products  of  Etruria  in  the  period 
from  the  late  seventh  century  B.C.  to  the  fifth  century  B.C.  inclusive. 

1  Anzeiger  of  the  Jahrbuch  des  archaologischen  Instituts,  1903,  pp.  38-39. 


Three  Etruscan   Painted  Sarcophagi  65 

a  (cat.  no.  24645) 

Outside  measurements:  length,  1.25  m;  breadth  (of  receptacle,  not 
cover),  0.48  m;  height  (to  top  of  cover),  0.95  m.  Inside  measurements: 
length,  1 .065  m;  breadth,  0.305  m;   depth,  0.215  m. 

The  cover  is  broken  into  three  pieces.  There  are  only  slight,  if  any, 
traces  of  repainting. 

The  designs  on  the  two  long  sides  (Plate  XXIX)  are  closely  similar: 
two  large  birds  (geese  ?)  fronting  each  other,  with  a  cup  between  them.  On 
each  end  (Plate  XXX)  is  an  identical  floral  ornament,  the  upper  part  of 
which  is  on  the  cover.  On  each  side  of  the  top  of  the  cover  (Plate  XXIX) , 
at  the  right-hand  end,  is  a  walking  sphinx  fronting  to  right.  There  are 
no  unmistakable  traces  of  any  figures  occupying  the  left-hand  ends  of  these 
two  surfaces.  Probably  the  two  sphinxes,  symmetrically  placed  as  they  are, 
were  thought  sufficient. 

The  colors  used  are  blue,  black,  brown,  yellow,  and  red.  The  back- 
ground is  everywhere  blue.  The  outlines  are  partly  black,  partly  yellow, 
partly  red.  The  four  large  birds  are  colored  alike:  wings  brown  and  red, 
other  parts  yellow.  The  floral  ornaments  on  the  ends  are  red.  The 
sphinxes  have  hair  brown;  faces  and  breasts  yellow;  wings  yellow,  red, 
blue,  and  brown;  remaining  parts  red. 

b  (cat.  no.  24644) 

Outside  measurements:  length,  1.89  m;  breadth,  0.56  m;  height, 
1 .055  m.  Inside  measurements:  length,  1 .6  m;  breadth,  0.395  m;  depth, 
0.215  m. 

The  cover  is  broken  into  two  pieces.  A  few  unimportant  cracks  have 
been  filled  in  with  plaster,  which  has  been  smeared  over  to  resemble  the  tuff, 
and  the  paintings  have  been  extensively  retouched. 

On  one  of  the  two  long  sides  (Plate  XXXI)  are  two  walking  sphinxes 
fronting  each  other,  with  a  floral  ornament  between  them.  On  the  other 
long  side  (Plate  XXXII)  are  two  dogs  similarly  placed,  with  a  different 
floral  ornament  between  them.  On  each  end  (Plates  XXXIII  XXXI Y) 
is  a  floral  ornament,  the  upper  part  of  which  is  on  the  cover.  These  two  end 
ornaments  are  similar,  but  not  identical.  On  the  top  of  the  cover  are  four 
marine  monsters  (hippocamps),  two  on  each  side.  Between  the  two  on  one 
side,  but  apparently  not  on  the  other,  is  a  cup.  At  each  of  the  four  corners 
of  the  top  of  the  cover  is  a  palmette,  inclined  inward  (Plate  XXXI 1 

Judging  by  present  appearances,  the  colors  used  are  the  same  as  upon 
A:    blue,  black,  brown,  yellow,  and  red.     The  background  is  everywhere 

blue.    The  outlines  of  figures  and  ornaments  are  partly  black,  partly  yellow, 


66  F.  B.  Tarbell 

partly  red.  Of  the  two  dogs  the  one  at  the  right  has  head,  shoulder,  further 
legs  and  tail  yellow;  other  parts  red.  The  one  at  the  left  reverses  these 
colors,  the  only  exceptions  being  that  the  tongues  of  both  dogs  are  red  and 
that  the  eyes  are  alike,  with  red  rims  and  black  pupils.  The  two  sphinxes 
show  a  less  simple  variation  of  colors.  The  one  at  the  right  has  hair,  breast, 
wing,  tail,  and  legs  red;  other  parts,  except  face,  blue.  The  one  at  the 
left  has  hair,  breast,  and  wing  blue;  further  legs  and  tail  yellow;  other 
parts  red.  Both  sphinxes  have  reddish  faces  and  red  and  yellow  lines  upon 
their  wings.  On  each  side  of  the  top  of  the  cover  the  two  hippocamps  are 
painted  alike:  on  one  side  with  blue  heads,  red  bodies,  yellow  fins  and  tails; 
on  the  other  (Plate  XXXII)  with  yellow  bodies  and  red  heads,  red  being 
used  also  for  flippers,  dorsal  fins,  and  parts  of  tails.  The  palmettes  are  red. 
The  other  ornaments  are  done  in  red  and  brown. 

c  (cat.  no.  24437) 

Outside  measurements:  length,  1.85  m;  breadth,  0.575  m;  height, 
1.02  m.  Inside  measurements:  length,  1.5  m;  breadth,  0.37  m;  depth, 
0.205  m. 

The  cover  is  made  of  two  unequal  pieces.  There  are  no  signs  of  repair, 
except  at  one  corner  of  the  cover;  and  the  colors  are  believed  to  be 
untouched  by  any  modern  hand. 

On  one  long  side  (Plate  XXXV)  is  a  monster,  seen  in  front  view,  having 
the  form  of  a  man  as  far  as  the  hips,  but  with  serpents  in  place  of  legs.  He 
wears  a  tunic,  which  ends  in  flaps  about  his  loins,  and  holds  by  his  right  hand 
against  his  right  shoulder  an  object  which  may  be  a  cornucopia.  The 
serpents,  coiling  symmetrically,  end  in  heads,  and  are  confronted  by  two 
large  birds  (swans?)  which  stand  with  bills  wide  open,  as  if  hissing.  On 
the  other  long  side  (Plate  XXXVI)  are  two  marine  monsters  (sea  dragons) 
fronting  each  other,  with  an  indistinct  object,  probably  floral,  between  them. 
On  one  end  (Plate  XXXVII)  a  winged  marine  monster  can  be  made  out 
with  some  difficulty.  On  the  other  end  there  are  faint  traces  of  a  similar 
creature.  The  top  of  the  cover  is  largely  overgrown  with  moss  (genus 
Hypnum),  now  dry.  Traces  of  painted  patterns  are  discernible  on  the 
vertical  surfaces  of  the  cover. 

On  the  principal  long  side  (Plate  XXXV)  eight  or  perhaps  nine  colors1 
are  used,  as  follows:  (1)  dark  brown,  for  outlines  and  inner  drawing  and  for 
cornucopia;  (2)  brownish  purple,  for  hair  of  monster  and  for  heads  of  birds; 
(3)  red,  for  touches  on  the  hair  and  for  the  rims  of  the  birds'  eyes;  (4)  orange 
red,  for  serpents  and  for  birds'  wings;  (5)  diluted  orange,  for  face,  neck,  and 

1  In  determining  the  colors  I  have  had  the  valuable  help  of  Miss  Lucy  C.  Driscoll. 


Three  Etruscan   Painted  Sarcophagi  67 

arms  of  monster;  (6)  yellow,  for  tunic  of  monster  and  for  bills  and  tails  of 
birds;  (7)  light  yellow,  for  necks  and  bodies  of  birds;  (8)  blue,  for  back- 
ground. In  addition  there  seem  to  be  traces  of  (9)  white,  the  purpose  of 
which  is  hard  to  make  out.  Possibly  it  may  have  formed  a  border  inclosing 
the  design  on  three  sides,  viz.,  along  the  upper  edge  and  at  the  two  ends. 
Of  course,  some  of  the  above-mentioned  colors  may  have  been  obtained  by 
mixing,  but  there  is  no  indication  of  one  color  being  laid  on  over  another,  as 
is  reported  for  the  specimen  in  Berlin. 

On  the  other  long  side  (Plate  XXXVI)  the  coloring  is  simpler:  outlines 
brown;  heads  and  bodies  mainly  orange  red,  but  with  brownish  purple 
bellies;  tails  yellow  and  brownish  purple;  indistinct  object  in  the  center 
orange,  red,  and  yellow;  background  blue. 

On  the  better-preserved  end  (Plate  XXXVII)  the  outlines  are  in  part 
single,  like  those  on  the  long  sides,  in  part  double,  brown  and  yellow,  the 
latter  color  lying  outside  the  former;  wings  are  orange  red,  as  is  also  a  patch 
on  the  belly;  head  and  tail  yellow;  remainder  of  the  creature  blue.  Con- 
trary to  the  practice  elsewhere,  the  background  on  this  end  is  not  painted 
blue,  but  left  in  the  natural  color  of  the  tuff. 

Unlike  the  sarcophagus  of  this  group  in  Berlin,  which  has  six  cubical 
feet,  viz.,  one  at  each  corner  and  one  at  the  middle  of  each  long  side,  the 
three  specimens  above  described  have  each  two  feet,  which  extend  from  side 
to  side  at  some  distance  from  the  ends,  as  may  be  easily  recognized  from  the 
illustrations. 

The  smallness  of  these  sarcophagi  is  remarkable.  A  is  obviously  for  a 
child.  B  and  C,  though  larger,  have  cavities  only  1 .6  m  or  1 .5  m  in  length 
and  0.395  or  0.3  7  m  in  breadth.  The  specimen  in  Berlin  is  somewhat  wider, 
but  the  available  length  is  no  greater.1  If  these  three  were  occupied  by 
adult  men  or  women  extended  at  full  length,  these  persons  must  have  been 
of  very  small  stature.2    The  shallowness  of  the  cavities  need  occasion  no 

1  The  measurements  given  are:  length,  1 . 75  m;  breadth,  0.73  111;  thickness  of  walls, 
o.  13  m.     This  would  indicate  1 .40X0.47  m  as  interior  dimensions. 

2  Few  data  for  comparison  are  available.  The  dimensions  oi  the  tuff  sarcophagi 
found  at  Narce  are  not  given  in  the  Monument]  antichi,Vol.  IV.  The  archaic  terra  cotta 
sarcophagus  from  Cervetri  in  the  Louvre  (LONGPEBIEK,  Musee  Napoleon,  III,  Plate 
XXXV)  is  2  m  in  length.  The  similar  specimen  from  the  same  site  now  in  the  Villa 
Giulia  near  Rome  is  of  the  same  length.  Its  cavity  measures  1  02X0.60111  (Monument! 
antichi,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  521  ff.).  On  the  other  hand,  the  specimen  now  in  the  British 
Museum  is  only  4  ft.  5  in.  (1 .345  m)  in  length.  The  fact  is  stated  without  comment  by 
Murray,  Terracotta  Sarcophagi  in  the  British  Museum,  p.  25,  as  well  as  by  WALTERS, 
Catalogue  of  the  Terracottas  in  the  British  Museum,  p.  [83.  This  sarcophagus  could  not 
have  been  intended  for  a  child,  because,  like  the  two  other  terra  cotta  sarcophagi,  it  has 
figures  of  a  man  and  woman,  obviously  a  married  pair, OH  the  <  over.  It  is  Btrange  that  its 
smallness  has  not  been  brought  into  the  diw  ussion  regarding  its  authenticity. 


68 


F.  B.  Tarbell 


difficulty,  inasmuch  as  the  covers  are  hollowed  out  underneath.     Thus  C 
has  the  cross-section  shown  in  Fig.  9,  and  A  and  B  are  similar.1 

The  surfaces  of  the  sarcophagi  have  been  somewhat  planed  down,  but 
are  still  anything  but  smooth.  The  paintings  are  executed  directly  upon 
the  tuff.  This  need  occasion  no  surprise.  To  be  sure,  the  paintings  upon 
the  walls  of  Etruscan  tombs  are  generally  executed  by  the  fresco  process 
upon  a  stucco  ground.  But  this  is  not  invariably  the  case,  as  witness 
several  tombs  at  Corneto  Tarquinia,  where  the  color  is  applied  directly  to 

the  tuff  walls.2  Even 
without  these  analogies 
the  procedure  adopted 
for  the  sarcophagi 
would  seem  to  be  the 
natural  one. 

The  designs,  like 
those  of  Etruscan  art 
in  general,  are  bor- 
rowed in  the  main  from 
Greece.  Sphinxes  and 
marine  monsters  are 
particularly  affected  by 
Etruscan  sepulchral 
decoration,  and  the 
snake-legged  giant  or 
demon  also  occurs.  It 
is  tempting  to  believe 
that  some  special  sig- 
nificance was  attached 
to  these  creatures.  Per- 
haps they  were  regarded 
as  warders  of  the  tomb.  The  dogs  also  would  easily  lend  themselves  to 
the  same  interpretation.  The  aquatic  birds  are  less  easy  to  account  for. 
Perhaps  they  are  as  devoid  of  special  meaning  as  the  vegetable  ornaments. 
The  palmettes  on  the  cover  of  B  are  of  an  exceptional,  barbarized  form. 
The  volutes  found  at  the  base  of  the  ornament  in  Greek  examples  are  here 
reduced  to  mere  loops;  the  fan-shaped  piece  from  which  the  petals  regularly 
spring  is  lacking,  and  the  petals  appear  rather  as  if  arranged  along  a  central 

1  Compare  the  cross-section  given  in  the  Monumenti  antichi,  Vol.  IV,  Atlante,  Plate 
V,3- 

2  Antike  Denkmaler,  Vol.  II,  text  to  Plates  XLI,  XLII;  Notizie  degli  scavi,  1905, 
p.  78. 


Fig.  9. 

Cross-Section  of  Sarcophagus. 


Three  Etruscan  Painted  Sarcophagi  69 

stem.  A  somewhat  similar  form  of  palmette  may  be  seen  on  an  Etruscan 
black-figured  vase  in  Munich.1 

Aquatic  birds  belong  to  the  familiar  repertory  of  early  Greek  and 
Etruscan  art,  and  we  sometimes  find  two  confronted,  as  on  A  and  C.2 

The  dog  occurs  occasionally  on  early  vases,  but  the  only  near  parallel 
which  I  can  find  to  the  dogs  of  B  is  afforded  by  the  Berlin  sarcophagus  of 
this  group.  That  has  two  dogs  of  the  same  breed  as  these,  confronting  each 
other,  with  mouths  open  and  tongues  hanging  out. 

The  sphinxes  of  A  easily  fall  into  place  among  the  innumerable  examples 
of  their  kind.  Their  wings  have  the  recurved  form  usual  in  archaic  Greek 
and  Etruscan  art,  and  their  inner  markings  are  normal  enough.3  The 
sphinxes  of  B,  on  the  other  hand,  are  peculiar.  Their  wings  approximate 
the  typical  form,  to  be  sure,  but  the  inner  markings  of  the  wings,  constructed 
on  two  different  systems,  have  no  near  analogies  discoverable  by  me. 
Furthermore  these  two  sphinxes,  instead  of  having  hair  recognizable  as  a 
distinct  mass,  have  what  look  like  close-fitting  caps,  which  are  carried  down 
without  a  break  to  form  the  breasts. 

The  hippocamps  of  B  belong  to  a  numerous  family,  but  they  deviate  in 
several  particulars  from  the  usual  archaic  type.4  Thus  the  equine  neck  is 
without  a  mane,  in  lieu  of  which  there  are  lines  suggestive  of  some  abnormal, 
perhaps  marine,  growth.  The  equine  legs  terminate,  not  in  hoofs,  but  in 
finlike  forms.  Finally  the  lower  part  of  the  creature  makes  a  complete  coil, 
such  as  is  elsewhere  unexampled  before  the  fifth  century  B.C.  The  sea 
dragons  on  one  of  the  long  sides  of  C  differ  from  the  hippocamps  of  B  chiefly 
in  the  form  of  the  heads,  in  the  notched  growth  above  the  heads  and  necks, 
and  in  the  absence  of  legs5 — peculiarities  which  may  possibly  have  been 
suggested  by  the  actual  sea  horse.  Monsters  of  this  type  are  common,  as 
is  also  the  winged  variety  represented  on  one  end  or  both  ends  of  C,  but 
apparently  not  before  the  fifth  century  B.C. 

The  half-human  monster  occupying  the  central  place  on  one  of  the  long 
sides  of  C  (Plate  XXXV)  .belongs  to  a  family  more  common  in  late  than  in 

1  No.  838.     Sieveking  and  Hackl,  Die  k.  Vasensammlung  zu  Mttnchen,  Fig.  100. 

2  For  example,  No.  797  of  the  Munich  collection  of  vases  {op.  n't.,  Plate  XXXI ). 

3  Compare,  for  instance,  the  sphinxes  on  a  Corinthian  vase  of  the  sixth  century: 
Gerhard,  Auserlesene  Vasenbilder,  Plate  ('('XX,  reproduced  in  Roschkr,  Lexikon  der 
griechischen  und  romischen  Mythologie,  Sphinx,  1305-00. 

*  See  the  exhaustive  article  Hippokampos  in  the  new  edition  of  Pu  i.y's  Rcalencyclo- 
padie,  to  which  indebtedness  is  acknowledged. 

s  In  front  of  each  dragon  there  is  a  notched  something  which  suggests  a  flipper.  Hut 
apparently  it  belongs  to  the  central  ornament  and  not  to  the  dragon. 


70  F.  B.  Tarbell 

early  Greek  and  Etruscan  art.  However,  he  is  not  unknown  in  early  art, 
sometimes  with  wings,  sometimes  without,  the  snaky  legs  sometimes  taper- 
ing off  into  tails,  sometimes  terminating  in  heads,  as  here.  The  human  head 
is  usually  bearded,  but  not  always.1 

Inasmuch  as  there  is  no  record  of  the  character  of  the  tomb  or  tombs 
in  which  the  three  sarcophagi  under  discussion  were  found,  nor  of  the  asso- 
ciated pottery  or  other  objects,  if  there  were  any  such,  there  is  no  evidence 
as  to  the  period  or  periods  to  which  they  should  be  assigned,  except  such  as 
is  afforded  by  the  form  of  the  sarcophagi  themselves  and  by  the  character 
of  the  paintings.  At  Narce  in  the  Faliscan  territory,  if  we  are  to  trust  in 
this  particular  the  elaborate,  but  much  discredited,  report  in  the  Monumenti 
antichi  (Vol.  IV),  sarcophagi  of  this  form  belong  to  the  earliest  chamber 
tombs  (p.  148),  there  assigned  to  the  seventh  century  B.C.  (p.  160),  and  are 
later  replaced  by  a  funeral  couch  of  tuff,  on  which  the  corpse  was  laid  with- 
out a  covering.  The  intelligent  excavator,  Fausto  Benedetti,  who  carried 
on  much  of  the  work  on  that  site,  assigns  this  form  to  a  second  period  in  the 
evolution  of  burial  in  chamber  tombs.2  In  any  case,  the  practices  at  Narce 
and  at  Toscanella  may  not  have  been  identical.  Thus  there  is  little  but  the 
character  of  the  paintings  to  determine  the  date  or  dates.  It  is  obvious  that 
A  and  B  are  archaic.  Assuming  that  Etruria  did  not  lag  much,  if  at  all, 
behind  Greece  in  the  development  of  drawing,  we  may  say  that  the  eyes 
of  the  sphinxes,  drawn  in  full  front  view,  with  the  circle  which  represents 
iris  and  pupil  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  opening  between  the  lids,  indicate 
a  date  before  480  B.C.  and  probably  before  500  B.C.  All  things  considered, 
some  time  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixth  century  (550-501  B.C.)  may  be 
suggested  for  A.  B  may,  I  think,  be  contemporary  with  A,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  coiled  bodies  of  the  hippocamps  have  not  hitherto  been  known 
to  occur  before  the  fifth  century.  C,  on  the  other  hand,  looks  decidedly 
later  than  A.  Its  more  varied  coloring  is  favorable  to  this  conclusion.  So 
is  its  more  truthful  and  animated  rendering  of  the  aquatic  birds.  So  are 
the  types  of  its  sea  dragons.  And,  above  all,  in  view  of  the  unsuccess  of 
the  vase  painters  of  the  sixth  century,  whether  working  in  the  black- 
figured3  or  the  red-figured4  style,  in  their  occasional  attempts  to  render  the 

1  Furtwangler,  Die  antiken  Gemmen,  Plates  XVIII,  51;  LXIII,  14;  LXIV,  28. 

2  Benedetti,  Gli  scavi  di  Narce,  pp.  19,  21. 

3  For  instance,  Francois  vase:  Furtwangler-Reichhold,  Griechische  Vasenmalerei, 
Plates  I-II;  Chalcidian  amphora:  Monumenti  dell'  Instituto,  Vol.  I,  Plate  LI;  terra- 
cotta plaque  in  Berlin:  Antikc  Dcnkmaler,  Vol.  II,  Plate  X,  1. 

*  For  instance,  amphora  of  Andocides:  Furtwangler-Reichhold,  op.  cit.,  Plate 
CXXXIII;   psyctcr  of  Kuphronius,  ibid.,  Plate  LXIII. 


Three  Etruscan   Painted  Sarcophagi  71 

human  face  in  front  view,  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  so  respectable  an  achieve- 
ment as  the  head  of  the  snake-legged  demon  would  have  been  possible  before 
the  fifth  century.  In  fact,  if  this  sarcophagus  stood  quite  alone,  I  should 
be  inclined  to  propose  an  even  later  date  for  it.  As  it  is,  I  hesitate  to 
separate  it  widely  from  its  companions.  The  discovery  of  additional 
sarcophagi  of  this  type  may  clear  up  the  chronological  questions  involved. 
Meanwhile  the  Chicago  specimens  are  made  accessible  to  students  of 
Etruscan  antiquities. 


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ANTHROPOLOGY.    VOL.    VI.    PL.    XXXIII. 


END   OF    SARCOPHAGUS    B. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF   NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    VOL.    VI,    PL.    XXXIV. 


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End  of  Etruscan  Sarcophagus  C. 


